Revisiting Personal Cassette Players
Personal cassette players may be old technology, but many people still enjoy listening to them for several reasons. Some like the nostalgia of a cassette tape player, and others have a lot of old tapes they want to review. Fortunately, they are still available and have a variety of different features and functions to choose from.
What types of personal cassette players are available?
- New - You can still get brand new cassette players today. A few different companies produce them. Also available are old tape players that were produced several years ago but are considered new since they have never been opened.
- Refurbished - Many personal cassette players available are refurbished, meaning they have been restored to working order.
- Vintage or Used - You can also find tape players that are years old and in great working order. Some have very limited use; it is not uncommon to find eBay cassette players that have only been used a couple of times.
Things to look for in a portable cassette player
- Radio - Cassette players with radios give you a bonus. Some models come with both FM and AM stations. If you have a cassette recorder that is not a personal cassette player, it might not have a radio
- Record Function - Some cassette players offer a record function that allows you to record either the radio, the world around you, or both. If a tape player does have this function, it will also have a built-in microphone or a microphone jack.
- Auto Reverse - When your tape is finished, auto-reverse immediately starts rewinding your tape.
Who makes personal cassette players?
- Sony - Most of the Sony's available are vintage or refurbished. Various models come with radio and have a record feature.
- Panasonic - Many of the Panasonic models are cassette recorders used for interviews and other types of voice recording. They also make portable cassette players designed primarily for music.
- Aiwa - Aiwa has a wide range of personal cassette players with many different features from radio to record capability.
- Suntone - Suntone tape players have most of the basic features of other brands. One higher-tech option they offer in one of their models is voice actuation.
- GPX - You can find brand new GPX tape players at eBay. Many come equipped with radios, and some models are available in a sporty version that is water-resistant and durable.
